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Research Article: Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Very Low Birth Weight Infants in the Northern District of Israel: A Cross-Sectional Study

Date Published: 2023-07-31

Abstract:
Background: Currently, no local database in Israel collects neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants. We investigated neurodevelopmental outcomes in one district of the largest healthcare organization in Israel. Methods: A cross-sectional study including all VLBW (<1500 g) preterm infants born between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2016 who were followed in any of seven child development centers in Israel’s Northern District. Data were retrospectively collected from the computerized medical record database. Results: Out of 436 participants, 55.1% had normal developmental outcomes. A total of 8.9% had cerebral palsy (CP), 12.2% had a global developmental delay (GDD), and 33.4% had a language delay. Out of the extremely preterm infants (n = 109), 20.2% had CP, 22.0% had GDD, and 44.9% had language delay. We found a statistically significant higher rate of abnormal neurodevelopment outcomes in non-Jews compared to Jews (57% vs. 37.8%, respectively, p < 0.0001). Conclusions: We found a relatively high overall rate of CP in our local population and a significant difference in neurodevelopmental outcomes between Jews and non-Jews. This study emphasizes the need for an expanded and detailed national database collecting post-discharge outcomes, as well as an assessment of national healthcare resource allocation and inequalities in preterm infants’ post-discharge care.

Introduction:
Preterm infants are at high risk for short and long-term neurodevelopmental impairment in the neuro-motor, cognitive, language, and behavioral domains [1]. The estimated prevalence of cerebral palsy (CP) in preterm infants is around 15% in infants born at 22–27 weeks of gestation, and it decreases with increasing gestational age (GA) [2,3]. Language and speech delays occur in around 30% of very preterm infants examined at preschool age [3]. Other neurodevelopmental sequelae in children born preterm include…

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